Author Topic: Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?  (Read 6321 times)

Loretta

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Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?
« on: December 05, 2013, 07:39:53 PM »
Hello, I am turning to the mustachian masses for a fix to my front-door problem.  When I purchased my condo in '07 it had the crappy original door handle which I had to replace.  Ever since the new door handle and the deadbolt were installed, the door can be pushed open maybe a 1/3 of an inch but remain locked.  When I look at the jamb I can see that it doesn't look right.  Both locksmiths who worked on the door to install the lock and the deadbolt complained about the nonstandardness of the setup.  Now when the weather is harsh I notice the wind will suck/blow the door in and out, which I know can't be good for security or heating.  Are there any carpentry fixes for this?  Any fixes a locksmith might have?  I greatly appreciate any advice!  This is annoying me.

Greg

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Re: Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2013, 10:09:18 PM »
Sounds like you need a new locksmith.  :)

The strike, the part on the door jamb that the latch and deadbolt latch into, is not correct.  Usually locksets come with new ones but yours may be damaged from too many different locks installed.  A new jamb might fix it, but that will cost $$.

You need to add material to the edge of the strike plate hole that is close to the outside, or move the strikeplate the 1/3" to the inside.  This might be done by removing the strikeplate and mortising (chiseling out) a new place for it that much further toward the interior.

money_bunny

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Re: Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2013, 05:21:18 AM »
This is a metal jamb?

Might benefit from cutting out a custom strike plate from sheet brass/steel and a dremel tool.

PantsOnFire

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Re: Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2013, 07:36:25 AM »
I had a similar problem on our old house.  The PO installed the lockset all wrong and just used copious amounts of stick-on weatherstripping to take up the "slop".  Since it was a steel door and frame, our options were limited. 

Fortunately in our case there was enough of a gap between the jamb and the edge of to door that I could just surface-mount a new double strike plate over the existing holes to shift the edge that holds the door closed back about 1/4" so the door would stay shut and sealed. 

Check out something like this in your local hardware store...

http://www.lowes.com/pd_252984-76018-U+10385-L_4294711003__?productId=3407896&Ntt=strike+plate&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dstrike%2Bplate&facetInfo=

See if the openings happen to match the spacing between your deadbolt and regular bolt-latch.  If so then it's a case of figuring out how far you need to "move" the holes back toward the stop in order to get the door to seal against the weatherstrip, then drilling mounting holes and using self-tapping screws to mount the new plate. 

Greg

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Re: Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2013, 09:56:43 AM »
If everyone else's suggestions don't work, it looks like the weather stripping is added to the inside.  You may be able to remove it, slide it tighter to the inside surface of the door so it's sealed and doesn't wiggle, and reinstall.  If this is a metal jamb (looks like it now that I study the pics) you may need to either predrill new holes or slot the holes in the weatherstrip.

paddedhat

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Re: Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2013, 05:23:11 PM »
Greg gets the prize behind door number one for the correct answer here.

The bore in the jamb, for the deadbolt, is about 3/8" off. you need to take a die grinder bit, chuck it in a small drill and oval the hole, toward the inside of the house, until the door closes tight with both the deadbolt AND the door latch engaged. It doesn't matter if you end up with a big ugly, egg shaped hole in this case. The door should be tightly sealed by the latch clicking into the strike, the deadbolt is secondary to the standard latch. Now you find yourself saying WTF is this guy talking about? What is a die grinder bit, and where is the die grinder bit store located? Well, I just did the Googles and found lots of pretty pictures and lot of dirt cheap ones on Amazon. Although you might find one at Lowe's or a real good local hardware place.  Good luck, remember PPE, as in Personal protective equipment, safety glasses, cup, helmet, etc.....  OK you can skip the helmet, and maybe the cup....... have fun.

So,

fodder69

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Re: Carpentry fix for my sucking entry door?
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2013, 08:57:11 AM »
I am a little by paddedhat's response. That would be correct if the deadbolt wasn't engaging but I think it is (in the top hole). Maybe not, but the OP didn't say the deadbolt wasn't engaging. OP, does the deadbolt engage in that top wood hole or the longer metal piece below that?

The big problem is a) the door jamb is chewed all up by a bunch of previous lock installs, and b) locksmiths are definitely not carpenters!

I see two concerns, one is that there is no strike plate for the dead bolt (I don't think), so it looks like a tiny piece of wood is holding that in making the deadbolt pretty much useless. Even if it hits that other plate it looks pretty worthless.

The second is the strike plate for the door latch itself is a) crap and not the right type, and b) not in the right place. They put that one in because the jamb is chewed up by all the old installs where the latch hit different places. You can see where it was already dremeled/die ground out to fit some other latch.

The correct way to do it would be to replace the strike plate (the part on the jamb and not the door), but you would need to glue in some wood and replace screws, etc.

Cheap easy way to do it is to just glue a little piece of wood or plastic inside the hole where the door handle latch hits. Looking at the door jamb in your second picture, this would be on the left side of the hole at the bottom. Just stick different sized pieces of something in there and shut the door until the slack is taken up. You can use wood and elmers glue, plastic and a hit glue gun or even pieces of cardboard as a temp fix.